Automatic stoking apparatus.



.LKENNEY & H. P. GROHN.

AUTMAT|C STOPPNG APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 7, 1915.

Patented A131220,- 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

w.1. KENNEY & l. P. GROHN. AUTOMATIC STOPPING APPAATUS.

APPLICATION FlLED JAN.,1915.

1,136,679, l Patented' Apr. 2o, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

APPLICATION FILED IAN. 7, 1915. 1,136,679. Patented Apr. 2o, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

` luIIVIIII Tll IIIIIII II I UnrrED STATES PATENT oEEroE.

WILLIAM JOHN KENNEY, OF WILMETTE, AND HENRYKPVHILLIP GROHN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNORS T0 THE UNDERFEED STOKER COMPANY OF AMERICA, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION 0F NEW JERSEY.

AUTOMATIC STOKING 'APPARATUS Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 20, 1915.

Original applications tiled October 12, 1908, Serial No. 457,199, and January 29, 1912, Serial No. 673,993. Divided and this application led January 7, 1915. Serial N o. 905.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, VILLIAM J. KENivEY and HENRY P. GROEN, citizens of the T lnlted States, residing at lVilmette and Chicago, respectively, county of Cook, State of Illinois, have invented a. certain new and useful Improvement in Automatic S tok1ng Apparatus, and declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

This application is a division of our prior applications Serial Nos. L157,199 and 673,993, filed, respectively, on October 1Q, 1908, and January 29, 1912; the first of said applications having matured into patent number 1,018,976, dated February 27, 1912.

Our invention may be said to have for its object to produce a simple and at the same time extremely 'flexible controlling mechanism for automatic stokers so as to regulate the feed of the fuel and the disconditions encountered, and the clinkers and ashes be discharged under all conditions in such a way as to secure the most efficient results. y

Viewed in one of its aspectsour invention Y may be Said to have for its object to secure a proper regulation for the operating mechanisnis of automatic self-cleaning stokers according to variations lin the boiler pressure.

The various features of novelty whereby our invention is characterized will hereinafter be pointed out with particularity in the claims; but, for a full understanding of our invention and of its objects and advan tages. reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure Vl is a view partly in side elevation and partly in section of a complete automatic stoking equipment for a locomotive arranged in accordance with our invention. portions of the locomotive and its tender being indicated in dotted lines;A Fig. 2 is a section laken through the fire box of the locomotive just above the stoking mechanism. showing the stoking mechanism in plan;

I Fig. Si a diagram of thepiping used to effect the automatic control of the blower and stoker mechanism, with primary conwith the controlling mechanism operated by the blower.

lVhile our invention is illustrated as ap-V plied to railway locomotives and, for the sake of brevity, vwe shall confine the detailed description to this adaptation, we desire to have it understood that our invention iS not in any way limited to railway locomotives but maybe used wherever an automatic Stoker is desired or required for heating boilers.

The mechanism for delivering the fuel into the furnace or fire box and for disposing of the clinkers and ashes may take any usual or preferred forms since our invention is not limited to any particular type of mechanism for this purpose. In the particular arrangement illustrated, 1 represents the fire box of arlocomotive in which are placed two retorts, 2, 2. At the back end of each retort is a ram, 3, by which the fuel placed into the hopper, 4, is fed into the retort. Between the tWoretOrts and between each of the retorts andthe adjacent side wall of the fire box is a mechanism, 5, for receiving clinker and ash from the retorts and moving it forwardlytoward a discharge out-let, G. at the front cnd of the fire box. The 'discharge outlet is cont-rolled by an oscillatory member comprising avslielf, 7, and a` cutting or breaking member, S, arranged at right angles to each other and eX- tcnding across the outlet. The clinkers and ashes are fed forwardly upon the shelf 7 and, when the shelf is dropped, the portions of clinker and ash hanging over the front end of the outlet are forced down into the ash box. The members 5 and the ejector are operated from a piston mounted in a suitable cylinder, 9, and connected lto the members 5 and the ejector by suitable links and levers. The retortS are arranged With'- in a closed air chamber l0 into which air is forced and from which it passes up through Suitable outlets or twyer blocks in the retorts.

I In' the rear end thel locomotive-tender v are arranged two blowers, 11, Yone near each side of the tender. The intake for the blowers is through the sides of the tender and the discharge is through a common iue 12,

extending along ,the bottom of the tender to the front end thereof where it is coupled to the air chamber by aV suitable iieXible connection, 13. Each blower may be driven by its own engine, 14, arranged at the side thereof.

Steam is applied directly from the locomotive ,boiler to the blower engines, the

rains and the cylinder for moving the elinkers and ashes, suitable controlling mechanism being provided to give reliable and ef- Iicient` operation under all conditions. V-

The piping and controlling devices for the steam are best shown in lFigs.2, 3 and 4. Referring to these vfigures, 18 represents a pipeleading from any suitable point of the boiler and 'adapted tov` supply the requisite 'steam to the stoker mechanism. From this Y pipe extendsa branch, 19,V which is oontinued'baok. through the tender to a point adjacent to the blower lmechanism where it is connected tothree'automatic valve devices, 20,` 21 and-22, suitably operated from one or both-of the blower engines. These valve devices may be similar to those described and claimed in'Patent No. 782,269

and therefore no ndetailed description thereposite ends of the; ram cylinders and of theY cylinder 9 so as to reciprocate ythe pistons in these cylinders, the 1 rate of reciprocation depending upon' the adjustment of the valve devices, 2O to 22. Steam is supplied tothe blowerfengines`.through a pipe 29 which is connected toy the supply :pipe 18 by "means of a valve, 30.' The pipe 29, like the pipe 19, extends back through the tender and is there connected to both of the blower engines. In

the ipe 29 isplaced Va suitable regulator,

31, or the purpose of regulating the supplyV of steam`to the blower engines.y Thus when the boiler pressure is high the demand upon the. stoking mechanism is only such as to maintain the pressure and is 'less than at times .when the boiler pressure not only must be maintained'but must be increased. The regulator controls the steaml to' the blower engines so as to make them meet the demand upon the stoking mechanismf We have not illustrated the regulator in detail since it is a common device which, as illustrated ih vsteam supply tothe blower engines is pref-' .livering fuel thereto, apparatus iorfremiovY ingfromthe stoker the clinkers andl ashesu ,byl variations inthe boiler pressure for con- Patent 782,269, has heretofore beenl used'jj forgoverning the blower, engines'of auto Y' matic stokers. Further 'control over the Steam Supply of the blower enginesmay be Y i had by means of manually operated valves, 32 and 33, arranged on opposite sides of the regulating valve and bymeans of a valved by-pass, 34, extending around the regulator valve. c rThe main controlling valve, 3.9,'fforthe" erably located near the throttle valve, 35, of the locomotive and is operated by thelever, 36, of the throttle ,valve so that when theV Yj throttle valve isclosed the valve 30 is also Y closed, since the demandfupon Vthe Astoking; Y, mechanism ceasesor is at least'greatlyre-l duced when the throttle valve lof the 'locomotive is closed. A valved by-pass, 39,Y around the valve`30 permits the `pipe 29 to Y, be suppliedwith steam independentlyof the Y K throttle valve. Y p v It will thus beV seen'that theifeeding of f A the fuel and the removal of the clinkers and 'i ashes are independent automatic operations, each regulatedby its own controller or con trollers and the ultimate Vcontrollingmeans being thepressure of the steam the boiler.v This insures Lgreat flexibilityk ofl control and makes it possible so to operate and cordi-V nate the various parts of the Stoker mechanism as toobtain the highest eiiciency Vunder *"5 any condition that may be met. Y Y fl "Whilewe have illustrated and "described in detail a specific complete equipment, we 1o0 f of course do not desire to be limitedto vthe various structural'details so illustrated and described; but intend to cover broadly the l means fork controllingtheengines'or motors.V i Y of the` actuating mechanism for' feeding the fuel'and removing the clinkers andashes, as willk be rapparent from the denitionsjof 'our invention constitutingthe appended claims. We claim:- Y. l i 1. In combination with Ia boiler,1a furnace, an automatic stoker in the-furnace 'foridef resulting from-fthe combustionfof thegfu'el, Y p independent actuating means for said StokerV ,i and said apparatus and meansiniuenced trolling said means. Y' Y Y ,y 2. In combination with a boiler, afurnace, A j an automatic Stoker Vin tht-ifurnace for de-"lfe livering fuel thereto, a motor for actuating said Stoker, Vapparatus for removing from i the Stoker the clinkers and ashes resulting Vfi fromkthe combustion of the. fuel, asecond ,y motor for yactuating said apparatus, and'`V means influenced: by'variations in'theboiler pressure for Iactuating said motors. y

3. In combination with a boiler, a furnace, 5

.an automatic stoker ,in the jfurnacefor deliverin'g fuel thereto, a motor for actuating' 1.3

said stoker, apparatus for removing from the stoker the clinkers and ashes resulting from the combustion of the fuel, a second motor for actuating said apparatus, means 5 iniuenced by variations in the boiler pressure for actuating said motors, and individual controllers for said motors.

4. In combination with a boiler, a furnace,

an automatic stokerin the furnace for de- 10 livering fuel thereto, a motor for actuating \said stoker,pmeans for removing from thev Stoker the'clinkers and ashes resulting from the combustion ofthe fuel, a second motorfor vaf'ztuating the aforesaid means, and-v a retort within the furnace, means including a motor for delivering fuel to the retort, apparatus arranged in the furnace beashes therefrom and removing them, a second motor for actuating said apparatus, and means inuenced by variations in the boiler pressure for actuating said motor.-

7. In combination with a boiler, a furnace, a retort Within the furnace, means including a motor for delivering fuel to the retort, means within the furnace beside the retort for receiving clinkers and ashes from the retort and removing them, a second motor for actuating the aforesaid means, means s 'influenced by variations, in boiler pressure for actuating the first motor and means in- 5 1 uenced by variationsin boiler actuating the second motor.

In testimony `Whereof,`we sign this pressure for specifi cation in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM JOHN KENNEY. ,f HENRY PHILLIP ,Witnesses p y v MATrm'D. STRETCH, Y MARGARET FALAHE.

enorm.'

so side the retort for receiving clinkers and f 

